1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an X-ray computer' tomography apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are attempts to perform analysis on lung wall, motion and the moving amount of tissue (to be referred to as lung function analysis hereinafter) by acquiring, for example, image data in a plurality of respiratory phases in the lung field using an X-ray computer tomography apparatus (X-ray CT apparatus), a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI apparatus), and the like. A method of performing function analysis by observing the dynamics of tissue is effective from the viewpoint of diagnosis and early detection of diseases. This method is also effective from the viewpoint of computer aided diagnosis (CAD).
Conventionally, as a lung function analysis technique, there has been available a technique of extracting a lung region by threshold processing and determining a rate of change in capacity or the like from the information of the extracted lung region. However, it is not possible to perform more specific, detailed quantitative examination.